Is Duck Dynasty staged? Jase Robertson answers that question and more
The men of Duck Dynasty are much more comfortable with shotguns than with smartphones. Phil, in particular, has come out strongly against cell phones and other hand held electronics. They’re not for him, he says. They’re too yuppie. In case you don’t want to take my word for it, check out this montage based on some of Phil’s Duck Dynasty interviews.
But Jase and Willie aren’t Phil and Si. They may live in the woods, but they also live in the 21st century, and they’re a lot more comfortable with that than their father and uncle. So, each week since the new season started, Jase has followed up the new episode with a little bit of social networking. He’s posted comments to Facebook about the episode, responded to some of the questions that folks have been asking him, and commented on social networking itself. Here’s some of what he’s had to say.
Duck Dynasty Season Two premiered on October 10th. On the 11th, Jase must have woken up to a slammed Facebook inbox, because he decided to send out a blanket response to his fans. He puts us all on notice: he can’t respond to us individually, he can’t promote anyone’s (or, at least anyone else’s) business through social networking, and we’re probably not his kin. Dang. He also makes it crystal clear that he is happily married and committed to his wife. (Wonder what kind of emails spurred that response?!)
Most interestingly, though, Jase comments on the “reality” of his family’s reality TV show. I’m guessing that a big pile of the messages he saw in his inbox said something about how staged the first episode looked. (I didn’t send one of those messages, but I could have.) Jase’s response? Well, he seems to acknowledge that things might look staged, but he also suggests that they really aren’t. Things occur in their normal lives, producers get involved, editing happens, and we get what we get. That’s Jase’s story, and he’s sticking with it.
The tone of Jase’s comments after the second episode are much lighter. He seems to be having more fun and feeling less besieged by his fans. Again, this isn’t really surprising, since the second set of episodes was much better than the first set. According to Jase, the boat sinking wasn’t staged, either. In fact, Jase sinks boats all the time, he says.
And, Si found his tea glass, thank goodness! Most strikingly, Si has tea glasses in colors other than blue (maybe we’ll see them soon!) and they were a gift from his mother, sent to him when he was in Vietnam. That’s amazing. That apparently unremarkable blue plastic glass is something special, indeed. I feel like we should’ve known.
Two days later, Jase must have finally gotten through his email, because he has some more answers for us. (Thanks, Jase!)
First, he doesn’t really know why he and his brothers call their parents by their first names, but he assures us it isn’t out of disrespect. Secondly (and this is my favorite) Jase solves the mystery of Si’s uneven beard. Half of it gets regularly “trimmed” by getting caught under the strap of his gun! That’s nuts. Next, maybe Jase will explain why half of it is white and the other half is dark grey. It’ll have something to do with gunpowder or camouflage, I’m sure.
There’s also an update on Sadie and some info about Jase’s favorite duck call, but he definitely saves the best for last . . . Si’s married! What the? Who is she?! Let’s hope she makes an appearance sometime this season. We have to get to know the woman who shares a life with Uncle Si! Oh, the stories she could tell! You know what? I bet she’s one special lady.
Here’s the full text of Jase’s Facebook posts.
October 11: Top 5 things that could make our social networking better. This is my opinion. First, no private messages. I cant possibly respond, it is too many. Second, if I havent met you yet, we are probably not kin to each other. Third, I am HAPPILY married. Fourth, I can not help your business in any way via social networking. I am not a businessman anyway. Fame and fortune is frivolous to me. Fifth, the show is highlights of our lives. We are not actors. When you edit things into 22 minutes some of it may seem a bit staged. It is about our faith, family, facial hair and meant to be fun. Any other questions feel free to post them on my wall. Thanks.
October 18: Okay, just for funzies Ill answer a few questions before I crash to bed. 1. Yes, this is me, no one types things for me, it seems awkward to answer that. 2. I have probably sunk more boats than my entire list of followers combined, probably because I get so excited to be on the prowl. 3. Si found his tea cup, but he actually has a set that my grandma sent him in Vietnam, I think its 5 they are different colors and treated with equal importance to Si. Lastly, I will try and answer a few questions from time to time if you all want to post a few questions. I appreciate the support.
October 20: Okay, here are a few answers, hope you figure out the questions. 1. I am not sure why we call our parents by their first names. It just happened without thought. We do call them mom and dad sometimes. It certainly is not out of disrespect. My theory is it is a sign that we were kicked out of the nest or our friendships became stronger post 20s. 2. Si’s beard is shorter on one side because one of the hazards of shooting a gun with a long beard is if the beard gets in between the shoulder and gun-butt, well, its gone. 3. If you want to hang out with us, you are welcome to join us every Wed. night on A@E. Thats the best I can do. If you want to hunt with us you can purchase a hunting DVD from Duck Commander that we put out every year, for a nominal fee, of course. 4. Sadie still does not have a drivers license, but she is still dating Beau from last season. 5. I love to hunt things that fly. My favorite mallard duck call these days is the triple-threat. I am smitten with that call. 6. Si is married and committed, however he thinks all women find him attractive which I find delusional, but we love him anyway. Keep the questions coming and Ill do my best. This is for ‘funzies’ and that is not a yuppie word. Si claims he invented that word.